Long Shot
by jackwabbit
Summary: Irisa and Tommy Friendship. Humor. Spoilers: None. Summary: Tommy plays the long shot. Will he regret it?


**Long Shot**  
Rated: PG  
Category: Irisa and Tommy Friendship. Humor.  
Spoilers: None.  
Summary: Tommy plays the long shot. Will he regret it?  
Disclaimer: The Channel Formerly Known as Sci-Fi and that Farscape Guy own Defiance, not me.  
Note: For alasdairstuart, who gave me the idea.

xxx

Tommy sighed as the radio squawked an alert.

Irisa poked her head in from the other room of the small lawkeeper station.

"Again?"

"Apparently," mumbled Tommy, all resignation.

"Well, it is the weekend," said Irisa with a shrug.

Tommy sighed again. "Exactly."

Irisa entered the room and slugged Tommy on the shoulder. "It won't be that bad. Come on. I'll go with you. It'll be fun. You'll see."

Tommy gave her an exasperated look. "Only you would describe breaking up drunken bar fights on a Saturday night as fun."

Irisa grinned rakishly at him, and nearly skipped out the building to their roller.

Tommy rolled his eyes and followed.

On the short drive to the NeedWant, Tommy grumbled from the passenger seat while Irisa jammed to something he considered unintelligible on the radio.

"Where's your dad, anyway?"

Irisa barely missed a beat. "He's not my father," she said, in between choruses.

Tommy scowled. "Still, where is he? He's supposed to be in charge around here."

Irisa stopped singing, turned down the radio, and gave Tommy a look that clearly said he was an idiot.

Tommy looked confused for a moment, then realization slowly dawned on his face.

"No."

Irisa laughed. "Oh, yes."

"You think?"

"No doubt in my mind."

"Why?"

"Because only one thing is more fun that breaking up drunken bar fights on a Saturday night, and that's being in drunken bar fights on Saturday night."

"But he's the Lawkeeper."

Irisa favored Tommy with another look that made Tommy reconsider his words.

"Okay. So he's not exactly a model citizen, but… no way. He wouldn't. Would he?"

"He would," answered Irisa with certainty.

"But he's been so, well, well-behaved since he took the office. I mean… really?"

Irisa grinned. "Care to bet on it?"

Tommy hesitated, then nodded. "Okay."

"Oh, yeah?" asked Irisa. "What's the wager?"

"Ten credits."

"Your loss," mumbled Irisa.

"I don't know. Nolan might surprise you. He's come a long way. He's probably just busy somewhere else."

"If you say so," said Irisa with a shrug. She then cranked the radio back up, effectively ending the conversation.

A few minutes later, their roller pulled up to the NeedWant, which seemed deceptively calm from the outside, despite the music blaring from inside. Suddenly, a man was thrown out of the front door. He landed on his chest just in front of the roller just as two other men, clearly intent on beating him to a pulp, emerged from the bar.

Tommy and Irisa ignored the man on the ground and immediately stepped in to apprehend the goons who were after him. They were subdued quickly with the help of a few stunners. Once that was done, the deputies turned to the man on the ground. He was still laying down on his stomach, clearly inebriated and beat up to boot, but he was conscious. He picked his head up, causing Tommy to curse as he recognized him.

"Hi, honey," said Nolan, smiling goofily at Irisa.

Irisa rolled her eyes. "You never learn, do you?"

"I had it all under control," said Nolan, slowly getting to his feet.

"Uh-huh. Sure you did," said Irisa, giving him a hand.

Nolan shrugged. "Win some, lose some, right?"

"Pretty much," mumbled Tommy.

Irisa shot him a victorious smile that was as creepy as it was short-lived, and Tommy shook his head as he helped Irisa and Nolan load the other fighters into the roller as best they could.

When all of them were secure, Tommy drove them back to the station, where the two thugs were put in overnight lock up and the Chief Lawmaker promptly passed out on a bench in the other cell.

Irisa closed the door to her dad's cell quietly and turned to Tommy. She leaned back on the door and crossed her arms. Tommy studiously ignored her, pretending to do paperwork for the arrest that both of them knew would never actually be made official.

After a moment, Irisa cleared her throat.

Tommy looked up. "What?" he asked, all feigned innocence.

Irisa held out her hand. "Pay up."

Tommy ran a hand over his closely-cropped hair. "Listen, about that… you're not going to hold me to it, are you? I mean, we were just joking around, right?"

"I never joke about money," said Irisa, completely serious.

Tommy swallowed. "Uh, right. Of course. I mean… uh…"

"You don't have ten credits, do you?"

"No."

Irisa mulled this over for a moment. "Well, how about station chores for two weeks, then?"

"Seriously? You're going to hold me to that bet?"

Irisa leveled her gaze at Tommy, and he fidgeted, then sighed. "Fine," he said. "Deal."

Irisa smiled and nodded, then casually walked out of the station like she was out for a Sunday stroll.

And when Nolan woke the next day, head aching and with the sun way too bright, if he wondered at all about why Tommy was mopping up sick in the next cell while his daughter sat with her feet up on his desk, he was wise enough not to ask about it.


End file.
